Tobacco-cutting machine.



No. 653,928. Patented July l7, won. a. A. mxou & J. w. HOWARD.

TOBACCO CUTTING MACHINE.

(Application filed May 8, 1899.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. DIXON AND JOHN WV. HOWARD, OF GALENA, KANSAS.

TOBACCO-CUTTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,928, dated July 17, 1900.

Application filed May 8, 1899. Serial No. 716,061. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE A. DIXON and JOHN W. HOWARD, of the city of Galena, in the county of Cherokee, State of Kansas, have invented an Improved Tobacco Knife, of which the following is a clear, full, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to certain new and useful improvements involved in the construction and combination of parts necessary to provide a tobacco-cutting machine or knife which is designed primarily to be operated by foot-power.

The object of our invention, among others, is to provide a machine of the character specified which will reliably perform its office of severing cakes or plugs of tobacco or other form thereof into any desired shape without the necessity of using the hands to effect such cutting process.

A further object of our invention is to provide means for cheaply though reliably anchoring the supportingposts employed to hold the cutting-blade in its operative position.

A further object is to so form the several parts that any one of them may be readily removed and replaced.

A further object is to enable the operator to quickly remove the knife in order to sharpen the same or for any other reasons.

The details of our invention will be fully set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of our improved tobacco-cutting knife, showing parts thereof in full lines. Fig. 2 is a horizonal section of Fig. 1 on line 2 2.

For convenience in designating the several parts of our invention numerals will be employed, of which 1 indicates the base or support proper, which may be a portion of a table or may be otherwise supported in its operative position. In the base thus or otherwise provided we form two apertures,each of which is designed to receive one of the guidingposts 2, which, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 1, are tubular and are each threaded at their upper and lower ends, the lower ends being provided with the inwardly-directed flanges 3 and an aperture 4, the upper ends of said guiding-posts being threaded to receive the caps 5 and also provided with an aperture designed'to loosely receive the knifecarrying rods 6, which extend loosely through the aperture in the cap 5 and also through the aperture 4, thelower end of each rod being properly connected, as by the nuts 7, to the cross-head 8. The lower ends of the tubular posts are slightly reduced in diameter, as by threading the same, and after passing through the apertures provided in the base 1 are secured in place by the nut 9, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

A bed or base proper, consisting of a steel plate 10, is embedded in the surface of the base 1, said plate of steel being covered and inclosed by a plate 11 of some such soft metal as copper or the like, with which the edge of the cutting-knife 12 comes in contact with out injury, it being understood that both of said plates 10 and 11 are provided with a suitable aperture which willsnugly receive the lower end of the post 2, but which will prevent said end from being drawn downward through the steel plate 10 by the nut 9. The inner sides of the posts 2 are provided with vertical slots 13, preferably extending throughout the entire length thereof, the object of which is to freely receive the ends of the knife 12. The ends of the knife 12 are preferably partly cut away, thereby forming upon the upper edge thereof the extension or section 14, by means of which the knife is secured to the rods 6, inasmuch assaid rods are provided with slots of sufficient extent to receive said section 14., as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, the rod and knife being held in operative relationship by a suitable rivet 15.

Disposed within the tubular posts 2 and around each of the rods 6 is the compressionsp'ring 16, the lower end of which rests upon the flange 3, and the upper end thereofbears against thelower edge of the section'let, this disposition of said springs being designed to hold the knife in a normally-elevated position, while the caps 5 will prevent the complete withdrawal of said knife until they are re rod 17, as by forming upon the upper end of said rod the hook-section 18, designed to extend through a suitable aperture 19, as fully set forth in Fig. 1.

It will be understood that the several parts of our invention may be made of any preferred material and, if desired, may be highly embellished, as by nickel-plating, the upper ends of the rods 6 being rendered more attractive by the addition of the spheres 20.

By providing the hardened-steel plate 10 as a base or support proper and covering the same with a sheet of copper or the like a very firm support is provided for the tobacco to be out, though the edge of the knife will not be seriously injured after passing through the tobacco,inasmuch as its force will be expended upon the copper plate thus interposed.

By'slightly reducing the ends of the tubular posts 2 they may be seated in apertures provided in the steel plate, but will be prevented from being drawn beyond the point of their reduced diameter by the securing-nut 9.

By the construction we have just described it will be seen that the posts 2, with their accompanying plates 10 and 11, may be quickly mounted in suitable apertures provided in any proper support, as on the edge of a table, and after the parts have thus been disposed and secured by the nuts 9 the cross-head 8 may be attached to the rods 6 by the nuts 7,

it being understood that any suitable treadle or other means for supporting the foot may be connected to the lower end of the rod 17, by which said rod may be easily drawn downward. After the parts have been thus assembled in their operative position it is obvious that the knife may be brought downward upon the tobacco by drawing down the rod 17 with the foot and that after the tobacco has been severed the knife will rise upward, owing to the force of the springs 16, after the rods 17 shall have been released.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a tobacco-knife, a base provided with a base proper, said base proper comprising a steel plate and a covering of soft metal disposed above said plate; suitable apertures provided in said base and plate; tubular supporting-posts threaded at their upper and lower ends, the latter fitting said apertures, said posts being slotted upon their inner sides and provided with retaining-nuts 9, in combination with knife-carrying rods 6 mounted in said posts; a knife connected to each of said rods and extending through said slots; a spring surrounding said rods and designed to hold said knife normally upward; a threaded cap fitting the upper threaded end of said posts and having an aperture designed to loosely receive one of said rods; a cross-head disposed beneath said base and connected to the downwardly-extending ends of said rods,

and a controlling-rod attached to said crosshead and designed to be operated by the foot, all combined in the manner specified and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a tobacco-cutting machine, tubular posts or supports having reduced threaded lower ends; a base having its surface covered with a hard and soft metal plate provided with apertures designed to receive said reduced ends; retaining-nuts fitting the downwardlyextending ends of said posts and adapted to secure theposts firmly in position; inwardly-directed flanges formed upon the lower ends of said posts, whereby apertures 4 will be provided; rods fitting said apertures and extending upward through said posts; a knife connected to said rods and extending through suitable slots provided in the inner side of saidposts; a cross-head attached-to the lower ends of said rods and means to draw 85. said head downward and additional means to normally hold said knife in an elevated position, all combined as specified and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a tobacco-cutting machine, a support ing-base provided with a hard and soft metal plate embedded in the surface thereof; tubular standards or posts 2 having slots upon their inner sides adapted to fit suitable apertures provided in said base and metallic 95 plates; nuts adapted to hold said posts in their operative position; rods extending en'- tirely through said posts; a knife passing through said slots and connected to said posts; a spiral spring disposed within each of said posts and around said rods and designed to hold the knife in a normally-elevated'position, and a cross-head connected to the lower ends of said rods and having a depending rod secured thereto designed to cooperate with the foot of the operator, all combined in the manner specified and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a tobacco-cutting machine, tubular standards having slightly reduced lower ends; a base-plate having a soft and hard metal reinforcement provided with apertures designed to receive the reduced ends of said standards; an anchoring-nut designed to hold said standards in an adjusted position; knifecarrying rods passing entirely through said posts; a knife connected tosaid rods and designed to pass loosely through slots provided in said post-s; springs adapted to hold'said knife in a normally-elevated position; a crosshead attached to the lower ends of said rods and a foot-controlled rod connected to said cross-head and extending downwardto a point where it may be conveniently engaged by the foot of the operator, all combined in the manner specified and for the purpose set forth.

GEORGE A. DIXON.- JOHN W. HOWARD.

W'itnesses;

J. F. SANDERS, HENRY HERB. 

